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The 5 Things I Have to Clean Before Guests Arrive

by on Feb 12, 2014

WebMD

I love a clean house. That means that I clean or straighten up something every day. A quick wipe down of a bathroom sink, a speed dust-mopping. You get the idea. So you can imagine what happens when company is coming over. I go into hyper-drive. I do all the stuff that’s expected, but I also do some things that I wouldn’t necessarily do during a regular weekly cleaning. Here are the top 5 things that get extra special attention for when guests are expected.

A set of black shoes infront of the door.

1. The outside ‘welcome’ mat. I hate a muddy, fuzz-filled welcome mat. And since this is one of our guests’ first impressions of the interior of our home, it’s gotta be clean. I’ll hose off the exterior mats, but for the mat in the garage, I haul out a vacuum with a beater bar. (It really is the only way to thoroughly remove cottonwood tree fluff.)

Tray with separate places for spoons, forks and scissors and pens aside inside the rack.Curbly

2. The silverware drawer and glassware cabinet in the kitchen. Invariably, when there’s a crowd in the house, someone will ask for a utensil or glass. I want to be able to direct them to the appropriate spot if my hands are full and not be embarrassed by what they may find.

Items are filling an open refrigerator.Curbly 3. The interior of the refrigerator. For the same reason as #2. This means actually CLEANING the fridge too, because who really needs to see the hardened juice puddle on the center shelf? (BTW: The silverware drawer and the refrigerator pictured here are mine before a good cleaning/organizing. To see the afters, go here and here.)

The base of a chandelier with individual lamps up closeLaura’s Crafty Life

4. Things NOT at my eye level. I’m what you’d call vertically challenged, so I might miss some things that my 6′ + in-laws could see. That means the top of the refrigerator gets a special cleaning as well as the light fixtures and ceiling fan blades. Of course things shorter than I am need to be dusted too, like baseboards and furnace vents and such. 

A white washbasin having a tap and a blue stain in it.What I Realized

5. Bathroom toilet, sink, and mirror. Yes, these are already clean, but I always give them a once-over right before my first guests arrive. I check for any new offenses that may have occurred as we were getting ready for company. As a matter of fact, I did this once and forgot the Windex bottle, leaving it on the bathroom floor for my mother-in-law to find. That was a little embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as a toothpaste blob in the sink.

I know I can’t be the only one that goes above and beyond when company is expected. It’s okay! You can admit it too! Do you share any of my special chores? Do you do any that I’m missing?? 

 

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